xviii, 343 pages ; 25 cm

As the high-ranking Bishop of Alexandria from 328 to 373, Athanasius came into conflict with no fewer than four Roman emperors -- Constantine himself, his son Constantius, Julian the Apostate, and the "Arian" Valens. In this new reconstruction of Athanasius's career, Timothy D. Barnes analyzes the nature and extent of the Bishop's power, especially as it intersected with the policies of these emperors. Repeatedly condemned and deposed by church councils, the Bishop persistently resurfaced as a player to contend with in ecclesiastic and imperial politics. Barnes's work reveals that Athanasius's writings, though a significant source for this period, are riddled with deliberate misinterpretations, which historians through the ages have uncritically accepted. Untangling longstanding misconceptions, Barnes reveals the Bishop's true role in the struggles within Christianity, and in the relations between the Roman emperor and the Church at a critical juncture. - Publisher

Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-319) and indexes

Chronology of Athanasius' career and writings -- Introduction -- Bishop Alexander -- Athanasius and Constantine: history and apologia -- A journey to Cappadocia -- Athanasius in Rome -- Julius and Marcellus -- The intervention of Constans -- The Council of Serdica -- Athanasius and the Martyrs of Adrianople -- Return to Alexandria -- The condemnation of 349 and its context -- The usurpation of Magnentius -- Sirmium, Arles, and Milan -- Apologia, polemic, and theology -- New theological controversies -- The Homoean Creed -- The elder statesman -- The emperor and the church, 324-361 -- Bishops and society -- Epilogue -- Appendices : The Festal letters ; The composition of the Defense against the Arians ; The Defense before Constantius ; The date of On the Council of Nicaea ; Narrative and chronology in Socrates ; Socrates, Sozomenus, and Sabinus ; Documents in Theodoretus ; Paul of Constantinople ; Imperial residences and journeys, 337-361 ; Creeds and councils, 337-361 ; Editions of the Historia acephala

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